Fluid distributing system



June 18, B GREEN FLUID DISTRIBUTING SYSTEM Filed 'July 27, 1945 ww wom i n.

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EE 5 6255/# BY u lq Tron/vers Jun@ 18, 1946, L. B. GREEN FLUID D-ISTRIBUTING SYSTEM Filed July 27, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

BY EE 5. GREEN Zini@ lm/dw June 18, 1946. L B GREEN r FLUID DISTRIBUTING :SYSTEMA Filed July 27, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 l INVENTOR. A. 4

EE 5. GREEN BY y l rraR/vs ras Patented .Iune 18, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to lluid distributing Systems and aims to provide an improved distributing system of the kind in which the control valves are located at a relatively remote distance from the fluid delivery nozzles or outlets and are controlled from the outlet stations.

Another object of this invention is to provide a fluid distributing system of this character in which electrically controlled means vis employed for actuating the remotely located valves.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved system of the kind mentioned in which fluid pressure responsive means controlled by solenoid valves is employed for actuating the remotely located valves.

Still another object or this invention is to provide an improved fluid distributing system of this character which can be used for vari-ous purposes, such as the distribution or hot and cold water to delivery outlets in residences, hotels, office buildings and the like, and in which the hot water heating and storage tank as well as the piping leading to the outlets are always maintained full of water and have only a flow pressure therein as distinguished from a static pressure corresponding with that of the supply mains.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings in which Fig. l is an elevational view, somewhat diagrammatic in form, showing a fluid distributing system embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of one of the control switches;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view, with portions broken away, showing one of the flow control units and the valve-actuating means embodied therein;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of such flow control unit;

Fig. 5 is an elevational view, with portions broken away, showing the main valve of the flow control unit of Figs. 3 and 4;

Fig. 6 is a plan view showing a modified form of my distributing system; and

Fig. 7 is an elevational view of one of the control valve units used in the system of Fig. 6.

In the embodiment of my distributing system illustrated in Fig. l, I show a supply connection I0 for supplying, under pressure, the fluid to be distributed and 'which connection may lead from the city water mains in cases vwhere the fluid to be distributed is water. The system also embodies a plurality of lluid delivery stations or outlets one of which is shown in Fig. 1 and is represented by the plumbing fixture l2 having a discharge nozzle or outlet member I3 through which either hot or cold water or a mixture thereof can be discharged.

The system also includes a hot water heating and storage tank I4 which is connected with the supply connection Ill by the piping or conduit I5 containing a shutoff valve I6, a strainer I'I, and a flow control valve or unit I8. Hot water is withdrawn or delivered from the tank 4 through the conduit 20. Hot and cold water delivery pipes 2| and 22'extend to arid are connected with the nozzle or delivery outlet I3. The hot water delivery pipe 2| is connected with the conduit 20 by a suitable fitting such as the T 23 and the now of hot water through the pipe 2| is controlled by a control valve or unit 24. The cold Water delivery pipe 22 is connected with the conduit l5 by a suitable litting such as the T 25 andthe now of cold water through the pipe 22 is controlled by a control valve or unit 2B.

In my fluid distributing system, the delivery outlet or nozzle i3 may be located in a bathroom or at any other desired point, and the ow control units I8, 24 and 26, as well as the hot water heating and storage tank I4 are located at a relatively remote point, such as in the basement, laundry room, plumbing shaft, or the like, and the operation of these units is remotely controlled from the outlet station that is to say, from a point at or adjacent the outlet or nozzle I3 through which the water is to be delivered. The pipes 2| and 22 leading to the outlet or nozzle I3 are continuously open or unobstructed throughout their length and the delivery outlet or nozzle I3 does not contain any valve. The pipes 2| and 22 as well as the hot water tank I4 are always maintained ful1 of Water but contain little or no pressure because the pressure of the supply main extends only to the control units I8 and 2G and, when these units are actuated to permit a flow of water to the outlet I3, the pressure in the pipes 2| and 22, and in the tank I4, is only a flow pressure.

A pair of electric switches 21 and 2B are located adjacent each of the delivery outlets I3 and, as will be explained more in detail hereinafter, are connected with the remotely located flow control units so that the cold water switch 27 controls the unit 26 and the hot water switch 28 controls both of the units |8 and 24. When a flow of cold water is desired from the outlet |3, the switch 21 is actuated to cause opening of the main valve 29 of the unit 26, thereby permitpermits cold water to flow into the hot water n tank I4 from the conduit I5. The valve 29 of the unit I8 is normally maintained closed so that, as above indicated, the tank I4 is ordinarily not subjected to the static pressure of the supply connection I9 which corresponds with the pressure in the supply mains. When the valves 29 of the units I8 and 24 are opened to obtain a ow of hot water to the outlet I3, the pressure then existing in the tank I4 and in the pipe 2| is only a iow pressure as distinguished from the static pressure in the supply mains. Likewise, the pressure in the cold water delivery pipe 22 is only a ow pressure which occurs when the valve 29 of the unit 25 has been opened to per-n mit cold water to flow to the outlet I3,

Since the delivery pipes 2| and 22 which eX- tend from the control valves to the various delivery outlets are required to carry only a ow pressure, it will be seen that these pipes can be in the form of relatively inexpensive thinwalled tubing which can be more easily installed than rigid piping which is necessary for higher pressures and which requires the use of plumbing ttings. It is also important to note that the delivery pipes 2| and 22 are maintained full of Water so that when one or the other of the switches 21 and 28 is actuated to obtain the desired flow, water will issue substantially immediately from the nozzle I3 and it will not be necessary to first expel air from the pipes which would create undesirable noises.

In Figs. 3, 4 and 5 I have further illustrated one of the control units, which are substantially identical with each other, the unit shown in this instance being the unit 24 which controls the flow of hot Water to the outlet I3. This con trol unit comprises a main valve 29 located in the pipe 2l and an electrically controlled uid pressure responsive device 39 for actuating the valve 29. As shown in Fig. 5, the valve 29 may be a simple shut-olf valve containing a valve element 3l normally urged downwardly toward its seat by a spring 32 and having a depending stem 33 projecting from the valve housing through a packing gland 34.

The fluid pressure device 39 may comprise a housing 36 having a pressure chamber 31 therein and a movable diaphragm 38 adapted to be lifted by the action of the pressure fluid admitted to the chamber 31. A spindle 39 projecting from the housing 36 has an enlargement 40 on its inner end seating against the diaphragm 38 and at its upper or outer end carries a thrust member or nut 4I which is engageable with the valve stem 33 to cause opening of the valve 29 against the action of the spring 32. The spindle 39 carries a cross-head 42 which is slidable on guide rods 43 and is subjected to the action of the compression springs 44 disposed around the guide rods. The pressure chamber 31 of the device 3D is relatively shallow so that the admission of a small amount of pressure uid into this chamber will lift the diaphragm 38 against the action of the springs 44V and will open the valve element 3| of the valve 29 a distance depending upon the extent to which the diaphragm 38 is actuated. The lower section of the housing 36 preferably has a groove 31a therein for quickly distributing the pressure uid over the surface of the diaphragm 38. The rods 43 also serve to connect the housing of the valve 29 with the housing 33.

The fluid pressure for the actuation of the diaphragm 38 is controlled by a pair of solenoid valves 45 and 46, the valve 45 being located in a pressure uid supply connection 41 and the valve 4S being located in an outlet connection 48 leading from the diaphragm chamber 3T. Each of the solenoid valves 45 and 46 has a movable valve element or plunger 49 adapted to cooperate with a valve seat 50 for controlling the flow of fluid therethrough. The valve element 49 is normally moved to its closed position in engagement with the seat 50 by its own weight or by the action of a suitable spring and is adapted to be moved away from the seat by energization of the solenoid 5I. The pressure fluid for actuating the diaphragms 38 of the various fiow control units may be the water pressure in the conduit I5, and therefore I show the auxiliary pressure fluid line I5a which feeds the supply connections 41. The outlet connections 48 may be connected to a drain line I5b which serves all of the flow control units.

The solenoid valves 45 and 46 are opened individually by energization of their respective solenoids 5I and these solenoids can be energized independently of each other. When the solenoid valve 45 is opened, pressure fluid is admitted to the chamber 31 causing the diaphragm 38 to be lifted and the valve 29 to be opened. The valve 29 can be opened any desired amount by maintaining the solenoid valve 45 open for the necessary period of time to permit actuation of the diaphragm 38 an amount corresponding with the desired extent of opening of the valve 29. When the valve 29 has been opened to the desired extent, the solenoid valve 45 is deenergized and permitted to close. The pressure fluid thus admitted to the chamber 31 is retained therein and the valve 29 is maintained in its open position.

When the operator desires to close the valve 29 the solenoid valve 46 is energized and thereby opened to permit fluid to be exhausted or released from the chamber 31 through the outlet connection 48. As the fluid escapes from the chamber 31, the springs 44 move the diaphragm 38 downwardly, and the downward movement 0f the spindle 39 permits the valve element 3| to be closed by its spring 32. The extent of closing movement thus imparted to the valve element 3| can be any desired amount depending upon the length of time the solenoid valve 45 is mantained open. If all or substantially all of the uid is exhausted from the chamber 31, the valve element 3I will be fully seated.

For energizing the solenoid valves 45 and 46 for the purpose just described, I employ the cold and hot water control switches 21 and 28 and appropriate circuit connections extending from these switches to the solenoid valves. In Fig. 2 I have shown a construction suitable for these electric switches and comprising a movable control member 52 carrying a Contact 53 which is engageable with one or the other of the stationary contacts 54 and 55. The control member 52 is normally held in an intermediate off or released position by compression springs 56 disposed on opposite sides of this member and surrounding a guide bar 51.

Electric current of appropriate characteristics, for example 20-volt alternating current, may be obtained from a suitable source, such as a transformer 59. having a pair of conductors 60 and 6I extending therefrom. The movable contacts 53 0f the switches 21 and 28 are each connected with the conductor 6U by a conductor 62. The stationary contacts 54 and 55 of the switches 21 and 28 are connected with the respective solenoid valves 45 and 46 by pairs of conductors 64 and 65. Each pair of solenoid valves 45 and 46 has a common return conductor B6 which is connected with the conductor 6I of the transformer 59. The conductors 64 and 65 which connect the control switch 28 with the hot water control unit 24 also extend to the solenoid valves 45 and 46 of th'e cold Water control unit I8 for the hot Water tank I4 so that the actuation of the switch 28 for controlling the delivery of hot water at the outlet I3 will opera-te the unit I8 substantially simultaneously with the unit 24.

In actuating either of the switches 21 and 28 to obtain a ow of water from the outlet I3, the operator shifts the control member 52 in the open direction as indicated by the arrow 61 to bring the movable contact 53 into engagement with the Contact 54. The closing of these contacts energizes the solenoid valve 45 and opens the same to supply pressure fluid to the diaphragm chamber 31. If a full stream is desired, the contact 53 is retained in engagement with the contact 54 until the diaphragm 38 has been moved to open the Valve 29 to its full extent. If only a partial stream is desired, the contact 53 is held in engagement with the contact 54 only until the de sired stream is obtained, whereupon the control member 52 is released and is permitted to return to the oli position under the iniluence of the springs 56, thereby moving the contact 53 away from the contact 54 and deenergizing the solenoid valve 45. When the operatorvdesires to stop the delivery of water from the outlet I3, he moves the control member 52 in the closing direction indicated by the arrow E8, thereby moving the contact 53 into engagement with the contact 55 and energizing the outlet solenoid valve 46, and maintains the contact 53 in engagement with the contact 55 until the pressure has been exhausted from the pressure chamber 31 and the valve 29 has been permitted to seat. When the flow has been stopped by thus closing the valve 29, the operator releases the" control member 52 to'permit the same to return to the intermediate "off position. It will be seen from the above described actuation of the control switch that the operator can obtain a stream of any desired force from the outlet I3 and can either maintain that stream or can increase or decrease the volume thereof, as may be desired.

It is desirable in the operation of my iiuid distributing system that the valve 29 of the hot water ow control unit I8 be opened slightly in advance of the valve 29 of the cold water inlet control unit I8 so as to prevent any substantial pressure in the tank I4, and to this end I provide the actuating spindle 39 of one or both' of these units with a thrust member or nut 4| which is threaded on the upper end ofthe spindle and is adjustable to vary the Width of the gap between the spindle and the end of the valve stem 33. The thrust member 4I of the unit v24 is adjusted so that, when the switch 28 is actuated to obtain a flow of hot water from the outlet I3, the valve 29 of the unit 24 will be opened slightly in advance of the valve 29 of the unit I8, thereby placingr the tank I4 in communication with the open delivery nozzle I3 before pressure is admitted to the tank from the conduit I5. A lock nut 69 associated with the thrust member or nut 4I serves to retain the latter in the desired adjustment.

It is also desirable to provide for the automatic closing of the main valves 29 of the iiow control units in the event of failure of the electric current or in the event that the operator actuates one of the switches to produce a flow of Water from the outlet I3 and then forgets or neglects to actuate the switch to cause the ow to be shut oft'. To obtain such automatic closing of the valve or valves 29 in such situations, I provide the diaphragm chamber 31 of each flow control unit with a leakage connection or outlet 10 which, in this instance is controlled by a petcock 1I. The petcock 1I is set so that a restricted ilow from the chamber 31 can take place whenever there is pressure fluid in this chamber. If the electric current should fail while the valve 25 is being held open as the result of pressure'fluid being retained in the diaphragm chamber 31 by the solenoid valves 45 and 46, it will not be possible to energize the solenoid valve 46 to exhaust the diaphragm chamber and hence the valve 2S will remain open. However, the escape of fluid through the petcook 1I will, within a predetermined time interval. relieve the pressure in the diaphragm chamber 31 and permit the valve 29 to be closed to discontinue the flow through the outlet I3. This restricted ilow through the petcock 1I will produce this same result, that is, an automatic closing of the valve 29 in the above-mentioned situation where the operator neglects or forgets to move the switch member 52 to the valve-closing position. During normal operation of the system, the flow through the petcock 1I is of no consequence because this ow is of very small volume in comparison with the flow of pressure fluid into the Vchamber 31 through the connection 41, and if `an automatic closing of the valve 29 does occur, the operator can easily reestablish the ilow fromvthe outlet I3 by again moving the switch member 52 to the valve-opening position. The fluid discharged from the chamber 31 through the petcock 1I may be received in suitably located drain fittings 12. The petcocks 1I also permit draining of the kdiaphragm chambers 31 when 'this is desirable to prevent freezing.

To avoid undue complexity in Fig. 1, I have shown only one of the outlets I3 and only the one pair of cold and hot water control units 26 and 24 which serve this outlet, but it will he understood, of course, that there may be a number of the outlets I3 each of which is served by a pair of the control units "26 and 24. Some outlets may be for hot or cold water only, in which case they are served by only one of the control units 26 or 24. Regardless of how many hot water outlets vthere may be in the system, only one of the control units I8 will be needed because this unit is electrically connected with all of the hot water switches 28.

In Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings I have shown a modi-.ded form of my uid distributing system in which a plurality, in this instance two, con.- trol units 15 and 16 are employed for controlling the flow of cold water into a hot water tank 18 and the ilow of hot water from this tank te the delivery outlets. The flow of cold water into the tank takes place through the pipes 19 and the cold water control valves located therein. The ow of hot water out of the tank takes place through the conduit 8| and the hot water control valves 82 located in the branch pipes 83 leading from the conduit 8i to the delivery outlets. Since each of the control units 'l5 and 16 embodies a pair of the control valves 88 and 82, these units may be conveniently referred to as double units. In addition to the double units and 16, the system of Fig. 5 may also include one or more single units 11 which are substantially identical with the unit 26 and control the flow of cold water from the pipe 'I9 to outlets through the.

branch pipes 19a. i

The control units 'i5 and 16 are similar to the units I8, 24 and 26 above described except that the pressure responsive device 84 serves to operate the two ow control valves 80 and 82 instead of a single flow control valve. In obtaining such actuation of a pair of control valves by the pressure responsive device 84, I provide the spindle 85 of this device (see Fig. 6) with a cross-head 86 carrying thrust members 81 which are engageable with the stems 88 of the control valves 80 and 82. A compression spring 89 surrounding the spindle 85 above the cross-head 86 urges the spindle and diaphragm downwardly to permit closing of the valve elements in the control valves 80 and 82. The thrust members 81 are preferably in the form of screws which can be adjusted in the cross-head 86 so as to Vary the width of the gap between these members and the valve stems 88. The gap for the hot water control valve 82 is usually of smaller width than the gap for the cold water inlet valve 80 so that the hot Water tank 'I8 will be connected with the delivery outlet before the cold, water control valve 80 is opened to permit pressure from the pipe 19 to enter the tank. l

The water in the hot water tanks I4 and 18 can be heated by any suitable means, such as the gas-red heater 9i! shown in Fig. 6.

From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings it will now' be readily understood that I have provided a novel fluid distributing system in which the delivery of uid through an outlet is controlled by valves located at a relatively remote point and the actuation of such valves is controlled by a movable member located at or adjacent the outlet station. It will be seen also that in my novel system the pipes extending from the control valve to the outlets .are maintained substantially full of liquid but carry little or no pressure and hence can be in the form of thin-walled tubing. Moreover, it will be seen that the ow control valves are positively actuated and are electrically controlled so that any desired stream or volume can be readily obtained at the delivery outlet.

While I have illustrated and described my uid distributing system in considerable detail, I do not wish to be correspondingly limited but regard my invention as including all changes and modications coming within the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. A system of the character described comprising a delivery station including an outlet member, a connection for supplying iiuid under pressure, a tank for heating and storing such Iiuid, a conduit connecting said outlet member with said tank and said tank with said supply connection, control valves in said conduit between said tank and supply connection and between said tank and outlet member, and electrical means for remotely controlling said valves including manually operable switch means adjacent said outlet member.

2. A system of the character described comprising a delivery station including an outlet member, a connection for supplying uid under pressure, a tank for heating and storing such fluid, a conduit connecting said outlet member with said tank and said tank with said supply connection, a Valve in the conduit between said tank and supply connection, a second valve in the conduit between said tank and outlet member, electrically controlled means adapted to actuate said valves and cause opening of the second valve in advance of the first-mentioned valve, and switch means adjacent said outlet member for energizing said electrically controlled means.

3. ln a system of the character described, a plurality of hot water delivery outlet members, a cold water supply connection, a tank for heating and storing the water, piping connecting said tank with said supply connection, a pipe connecting each outlet member with said tank, a cold water control valve common to all of said outlet members, and located in the piping between said tank and supply connection, a hot water control valve for each o-utlet member, an electrically controlled actuating means for each of said valves,

a manually operable switch adjacent each outlet member, and circuit connections enabling each switch to simultaneously energize the electrically controlled actuating means for its hot water control valve and for said common cold water control valve.

4. In a system of the character described, a plurality of hot water delivery outlet members, a cold water supply connection, a tank for heating and storing the Water, piping connecting said tank with said supply connection, hot water piping connecting the individual outlet members with said tank, a hot water control valve for each outlet member and located in the piping between such outlet member and said tank, a cold Water control valve for each outlet member and located in the piping between said tank and said supply connection, an electrically controlled means associated with the hot Water rand cold Water control valves of each outlet member and adapted to cause substantially simultaneous actuation thereof, and manually operable electric switches adjacent the outlet members and operably connected With the electrically controlled means for the hot water land cold Water control valves of the respective outlet members.

5. In a system of the character described, a `plurality of hot water delivery outlet members, a cold water supply connection, a tank for heating and storing the water, piping connecting said tank with said supply connection, hot water piping connecting the individual outlet members with said tank, a hot Water control valve for each outlet member and located in the piping between such outlet member and said tank, a cold Water control valve for each outlet member and located in the piping between said tank and said supply connection and paired with the hot water control valve for the same outlet member, a fluid pressure responsive device common to each pair of hot water and cold water control valves for actuating the saine, and electrical means for controlling such iluid pressure responsive devices including manually operable switches adjacent thc outlet members, said switches lbeing operably connected with the fluid pressure responsive devices for the hot and cold water control valves of the respective outlet members.

6. In a system of the character described, a plurality of hot water delivery outlet members, a cold water supply connection, a tank for heating and storing the water, piping connecting said tank with said supply connection, piping connecting the individual outlet members with said tank, a hot water control valve for each outlet member and located in the piping between such outlet member and said tank, a cold water control valve for each outlet member and located in the piping between said tank and said supply connection and paired with the hot water control 

